Match box with safety stop



March 18, 1952 J FALv MATCHBOX WITH SAFETY STOP Filed June 9, 1949Inventor Barney 1.; Fa/

Patented Mar. 18, 1952 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE MATCH BOX WITH SAFETYs'ror Barney .LFal, Monessen, Pa.

Application June 9, 1949, Serial No. 98,027

2 Claims. 1

The presentinvention relates to certain new and useful improvements in:pocket-type boxes for safety matches and has more particular referenceto a box characterized by a one-Way opening cover which requires the boxto be fully closed in order to properly strike and ignite a match takenfrom the box.

More specifically stated, the invention has to do with added structuralfeatures carried by the match containing tray. However, in carrying outmy aims, I utilize a conventional pockettype box made up of the usualtray and an open ended sleeve forming a sheath or cover for the tray.

The primary object of the invention is to provide novel stop meansafi'ixed to and carried by one end of the tray and abrasive meanscarried by the remaining or opposite end of the tray.

A further object of the invention has to do with the mode of packing orinserting the safety matches in the tray and this objective is achievedby confining the headed ends of the matches to that end of the traywhich is equipped with the aforementioned cover stop means.

Then, too, it is an object of the invention to utilize a simple L-shapedmetal clip as a stop means and to attach the long limb to the coactingend of the tray in such a way that the remaining or shorter limbunderlies the bottom of the tray in spaced parallelism and functions asa clasp for frictionally contacting and holding the coacting end of thecover so that it is locked, as it were, in closed position.

Other objects and advantages will become more readily apparent from thefollowing description and the accompanying illustrative drawings.

In the drawing, wherein like numerals are employed to designate likeparts throughout the views:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a pocket-type box for safety matchesconstructed in accordance with the principles of the present invention.

Figure 2 is likewise a perspective view of the same box but observingthe opposite or right hand end abrasive feature.

Figure 3 is an enlarged central longitudinal sectional view takenapproximately on the plane of the line 3-3 of Figure 1, looking in thedirection of the arrows. t

Figure 4 is an enlarged detail perspective of the safety stop or clip.

Referring now to the drawing by distinguish.- ing reference numerals,the usual cardboard or equivalent tray section is denoted by the numeral6 and embodies a flat bottom wall 1, longitudinal side walls 8 andtransverse end walls 9 and I0 respectively. The open ended sleeve,which'constitutes the sheath or cover, is denoted by the numeral H andincludes top and bottom walls l2 and I3 and longitudinal side walls [4and 15. Thus, the tray and cover are of 'conventiona form.

In carrying out the present invention, I provide novel stop means whichtakes the form of a substantially L-shaped metal clip I6 as shown inFigure 4 and which includes a vertical long limb I7 and a complementalshort limb Ila. The limb I! has tongues It struck out therefrom and saidtongues are pointed or V-shaped and constitute anchoring spurs and arepassed through the end 9 of the tray as shown in Figure 3 to thus fastensaid limb I! to said end 9. The clip is mounted in such a way that theshorter limb Ila underlies the bottom I of the tray in spaced relation.The lower projecting end portion of limb l1 constitutes a stop for theadjacent abutting end of the cover, the end of wall [3, and said endslides into the space between the limb Ila and the bottom 1 of the trayso that said limb Ila functions as a friction keeper or clasp. On theopposite end wall It of the tray I provide any suitable abrasive meansl9 and thus the abrasive surface is restricted to the end l0 alone.

The matches are denoted by the numeral 20 and it will be noted in Figure3 that the heads 21 all face the same way, that is, toward the left. Or,to be more specific, the heads of the matches are located or situated atthe end of the tray which is provided with the described stop means. Itwill be seen, therefore, that in order to expose and remove a match itis necessary to slide the cover from left to right in Fig. 3 since itssliding movement in the opposite direction is prevented by the stop orclip means. Then, as the cover is slid to open position to take out amatch, the abrasive agent or means 19 telescopes into the cover asindicated in dotted lines in Fig. 2. Therefore, to bring the abrasivemeans back to proper position for use, the cover has to be returned toclosed position. This means therefore that the likelihood of the matchesin the box catching on fire from flying sparks is limited to a minimumpossibility.

It will be seen from the description that there are three essentialphases or features to be stressed; namely, the stop clip or means l6fastened to one end of the tray, the abrasive means accessible only fromthe opposite end of the tray and not accessible unless the box isclosed, and the idea of packaging the matches so that the head ends arenext to the end of the tray which carries the stop means.

Many and varied attempts in the art have been made to promote safety andto safeguard injury from an accidentally ignited package or box ofmatches and the approach hereindisclosed, it is believed, constitutes anapt and suitable construction and arrangement which solves the problem.

A careful consideration of the foregoing description in conjunction withthe invention as illustrated in the drawings will enable the reader toobtain a clear understanding and impression of the alleged features ofmerit and novelty suflicient to clarify the construction of theinvention as hereinafter claimed.

Minor changes in shape, size, materials and rearrangement of parts maybe resorted to in actual practice so long as no departure is made fromthe invention as claimed.

Having described the invention, what is claimed as new is:

1. A one-way opening box for safety matches wherein the box must befully closed to enable the 'user to properly strike and ignite a matchcomprising an open ended imperforate cover sleeve, a sliding tray fittedtelescopically in said sleeve, exteriorly disposed abrasive means on oneend only of said tray, rigid stop means on the opposite end of saidtray, said stop means embodying a friction detent releasably engageablewith the adjacent end of said sleeve and rendering said box of thestated one-way opening type, and a batch of safety matches in said tray,the heads of all matches being confined in that end of the tray whichcarries said stop means.

2. A one-way opening box for safety matches wherein the box must befully closed to enable the user to properly strike and ignite a matchcomprising an open ended imperforate cover sleeve, a sliding tray fittedtelescopically in said sleeve, exteriorly disposed abrasive means on oneend only of said tray, rigid stop means on the opposite end of saidtray, said stop means being in the form of an L-shaped clip embodying along limb secured exteriorly to said opposite end of said tray and ashort limb underlying the bottom wall of the cooperating end portion ofsaid sleeve.

BARNEY J. FAL.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 890,008 Yawman June 9, 19081,212,219 Hescheles Jan. 16, 1917 1,243,907 Waugh Oct. 23, 19171,481,446 Welsh Jan. 22, 1924 1,828,962 Drew Oct. 27, 1931 1,882,890Porter Oct. 18, 1932 2,112,477 Brownfield Mar. 29, 1938

